Which law states that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?

Which law states that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?

• A. Newton's First Law
• B. Newton's Second Law
• C. Newton's Third Law
• D. Gravitation

Answer: (C)

This question tests Newton's Third Law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When one object pushes on another, the second object pushes back with the same amount of force in the opposite direction. These action–reaction forces form a pair and act on two different objects, which is why they can produce motion or change it. Think of a rocket: the engine pushes exhaust gases backward, and the gases push the rocket forward with an equal and opposite force. Or imagine pushing against a wall: your push on the wall creates a force that the wall pushes back on you with equal magnitude but opposite direction. A bat hitting a ball is another everyday example—the ball feels a force from the bat, and the bat feels an equal and opposite force from the ball. Newton's First Law is about inertia—an object at rest stays at rest or an object in motion continues at constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force. Newton's Second Law relates the net force to acceleration (F = ma). Gravitation describes the attraction between masses, not the paired action–reaction forces.

This question tests Newton's Third Law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When one object pushes on another, the second object pushes back with the same amount of force in the opposite direction. These action–reaction forces form a pair and act on two different objects, which is why they can produce motion or change it.

Think of a rocket: the engine pushes exhaust gases backward, and the gases push the rocket forward with an equal and opposite force. Or imagine pushing against a wall: your push on the wall creates a force that the wall pushes back on you with equal magnitude but opposite direction. A bat hitting a ball is another everyday example—the ball feels a force from the bat, and the bat feels an equal and opposite force from the ball.

Newton's First Law is about inertia—an object at rest stays at rest or an object in motion continues at constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force. Newton's Second Law relates the net force to acceleration (F = ma). Gravitation describes the attraction between masses, not the paired action–reaction forces.